1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a cover and grate or open work panel for an agricultural bin type animal feeder and the combination of cover, grate or open work panel and bin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hay feeders and feed containers are routinely used to feed livestock. These feeders vary in shape, size and construction and are normally constructed of metal or a composite plastic material. These feeders and containers are basically enclosures or bins with open tops into which the feed is placed. Examples of types of feed that are placed into these bins include hay, forage or silage. To eat the feed, the animal will extend their head over the side of the bin to reach the feed via the open top of the bin. One such open top agricultural bin is sold by Decade Products of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Alternately, instead of employing open top bins, some feeders also have various forms of feed restrictors that run along guided paths or are integrated into the design of a complete feeder. These feeders can be expensive and are often hard to load with feed, particularly those that are loaded from the bottom instead of from the top.
There are numerous problems with use of open top bins for animal feeders. First, animals will routinely chew and damage the edges of non-metallic feeders, which are relatively expensive to replace. Metallic feeders, while being more resistant to chewing, inevitably rust and degrade when exposed to the elements.
Also, open top feeders tend to be wasteful of feed. Animals can easily pull out more feed from the bin than they eat, scattering the extra feed on the ground where it is trampled underfoot. Another problem with use of these open top bins for feeding animals is that a strong wind can blow the feed out of the open top of the bin and scatter it over the field or even blow it into a neighboring pasture.
Additionally, if the rancher or farmer wishes to restrict the amount of feed eaten by the livestock, they must buy an entirely new feeder for that purpose, which is expensive.
The present invention solves these problems by providing a relatively inexpensive bumper this is custom fit to a preexisting agricultural bin and which keeps the edges of the expensive bin from being chewed and damaged. The bumper is also designed to discourage animal chewing on the bumper itself to extend the bumper's useful life. The design includes a wider, rounded or beveled top edge on the bumper that is more difficult for animals to chew.
The bumper is designed with a slot in the side through which the farmer or rancher may place a grate or an open work panel that then will rest on top of the feed. The slot is formed between the bumper and the top edge of the bin. Although the invention is described as including one slot in one side of the bumper, the invention is not so limited and there can be slots on two, three or all four sides of the bumper.
The open work panel is custom sized to be slightly smaller than the interior opening of the preexisting agricultural bin so that the panel is free to move downward within the feeder as the feed is removed by the animals. Yet the open work panel is sized to be larger than the inner opening of the bumper so that it cannot be removed from the bumper by an animal by simply lifting upward on it. Instead, the open work panel can only be removed from the bumper by lifting the panel upward to align the panel with the slot in the side of the bumper and then moving the panel sideways through the slot.
The openwork panel is provided with openings that extend through the panel and are designed to allow an animal to reach through the openings to pull feed out of the bin through the openings in the panel. The openings in the panel can be customized to the user's specification. Panels can be constructed with the openings of any shape, size, and arrangement. Openings may be of standard geometric shapes such as circles or slots or may be shaped in the form of the user's initials, logo, or other user specified shapes or designs.